1. 232key does not work as expected

The first thing you should do is
to press stop in the start/stop tab and
then switch to the
event log. The event log is a very useful
troubleshooting tool. In the example below, you can see that
232key has received a total of 10 lines of data from the connected
device. Two lines contained measuring values which were extracted
and typed by 232key ("70.8" and "102.1", shown in italics
and blue). Non-printable ASCII
control characters are shown in pointy brackets ("<13><10>" =
carriage return and line feed).

Depending on what you see in your event log, please refer to the
appropriate section below.

Data transmission is set to the correct mode. You want
data to be transferred upon pressing a button on the device
(sometimes called "key mode") or automatically at the end of
a measurement or reading ("auto mode"). Modes which you do
not
want might be called "stream" or "continuous mode" where
data is sent continuously several times per second,
"interval mode" where data is sent automatically in certain
intervals or "command mode" where data has to be requested
by the software.

Example:

Adam Equipment CPWplus:
Set the scale to "trn 3" (default setting is "trn 1", RS-232
port deactivated). Confirm that all other settings match the
default values in 232key.

Data content is set correctly. On some devices, you can
chose which data should be sent, e.g. on some scales, you
can send the net and gross weight as well as the date and
time. Generally, 232key automatically extracts the first number it
encounters in the data sent by the device, so you should
make sure the value you want is sent as the first (or only)
value.

To make sure that your device is working correctly, you could
also try observing the RS-232 output signals with a converter
equipped with Tx/Rx LEDs, an RS-232 interface tester, a
voltmeter or an oscilloscope. A surprisingly common problem
we've encountered with inexpensive scales were faulty,
counterfeit
MAX232 ICs which resulted in data transfer failures at the
signal level.

RS-232 cable: Make sure the connectors are fully plugged in
(sounds stupid, but this is a common mistake). Also verify
that you have the right kind of cable for your device.
Unfortunately, even cables
which look completely identical on the outside can be wired
differently. If you're using a crossed ("null modem") cable where a
straight 1:1 cable is required (or vice-versa), the connection
won't work.

RS-232 to USB converter (if used): Make sure the driver is up to
date. Try unplugging and plugging the converter into the same USB
port. If this doesn't help, try unplugging and plugging it into
another USB port (it might now show up as a
new COM port on your system, don't
forget to specify this port in the input tab). If
your converter is connected to a hub, try connect it directly to a
port on your PC.

232key: Verify that you have selected the right
COM port as well as device and
interface parameters in the input tab. Try selecting the "generic" device. If you
suspect that a bug in 232key is causing the problem, try using a
terminal program like hterm to communicate with your device
before submitting a bug report or contacting us for help.If the terminal program doesn't
receive any data either, the issue is not caused by 232key but by
one of the other points listed above.

Please understand that we cannot remotely
diagnose this kind of "no data received" issue for you and that
it usually has nothing to do with our software!

You did not remove these characters by entering them in
the remove field in the process
tab.

What happened then is that 232key tried to convert
the captured non-numeric data into a number, which produced the error.

Solutions:

If you want 232key to type a number, you have to remove the matched non-numeric characters in the
process tab (in the pictured example, you'd
enter "/" in the remove field).

If you want 232key to type all characters as captured, change the
device in the input tab to "Barcode alphanumeric" or "Barcode alphanumeric extended".

c. "Cannot type: .." error

This message means that 232key has captured a character which it cannot (currently) type. The "Barcode alphanumeric" device can type characters A-Z (case sensitive) and 0-9, while
the "Barcode alphanumeric extended" device can also type a-z and
several other characters (see
entry under "additional devices" here for a complete list).
If a character outside this range has been captured, this error
message is logged and the character is ignored.

We're constantly working on adding further characters to the
"Barcode alphanumeric extended" device. Due to the low-level
nature of our keyboard simulation and the many keyboard layouts
in use around the world, this can be surprisingly complicated.

d. "Unsent data" message

If you find an "unsent data" message in the event log
(after having pressed stop in the start/stop
tab), this means that 232key has received data
from your device, but has not found the terminator you
specified in the input tab. This can have two
possible causes:

1. Wrong terminator

The terminator
is the very last character in each line of data sent from the device.
In the example below, the terminator should be "<10> LF", but was
specified as "<13> CR" (in this example, this didn't
prevent 232key from extracting the measuring value):

2. Wrong connection parameters

If the "unsent data" message is followed by unexpected characters and numbers in
<angle quotation marks> (non-printable characters), your connection parameters are wrong. The most
likely culprits are the bits/s and data bits
settings
in the input tab. Please refer to the manual
that came with your device to find the correct settings.

e. Framing or parity
errors

These errors appear if the data received by 232key does not
match the expected format at byte level. If you see a long list
of these errors, your connection parameters in the input
tab are most likely wrong. Please refer to the manual that came
with your device to find the correct settings.

If these errors only appear sporadically, this could mean
that your data has been corrupted.

f. Data received, but 232key
extracts the wrong part

1. Wrong numeric value extracted

If your device transmits multiple values in one line (e.g.
time/date and a measuring value), only the first one will be
extracted by 232key. This value might not be the one you're
interested in. Here's an example of a complicated data sequence
where 232key extracts the first number ("0,16") instead of the desired
measuring value ("105"):

Solutions:

Contact us so that we can analyze the data and build a
special device profile. Please send us the content of the
event log tab and the name of your device and manufacturer.
Here's the event log for the example above after we included a "Tanita
TL-280/TL-290" profile for our user, showing that the desired value ("105")
is now being captured:

2. Letters not extracted

Currently, only the "barcode alphanumeric" and "barcode
alphanumeric extended" profiles supports letters. Please make sure
one of these devices is selected in
the input tab.

g. Data received, but 232key extracts too many parts

If your device transmits several lines of data at once, 232key
will process all of them and possibly extract some values you're not
interested in. The following example shows the output of an Ohaus
STX scale in its default configuration:

As you can see, 232key extracts part of the date, the balance
ID, part of the model no. and finally the weight.

Solutions:

Configure your device to send only
one value. The scale used in our example can be set to
transmit the "numeric value only" (and then sends only
the weight, a setting which works
fine with the default "Ohaus" profile in 232key).

Contact us so that we can analyze the data and build a
special device profile. Please send us
the content of the event log tab and the name of your device
and manufacturer.

h. Data received, but 232key extracts nothing

You can see that data has been received from your device, but nothing is shown in blue and italics (i.e. no data has been extracted
and typed by 232key)?

Please make sure that you've selected the right
device profile in the input tab:
The "general" device profile is meant to be used with
measuring instruments and only supports numeric values.
The "barcode alphanumeric (A-Z and 0-9)" device profile
supports characters A-Z (case sensitive) and digits 0-9
while the "barcode alphanumeric extended*" profile supports
all printable ASCII characters.

If you only see a lot of values in pointy brackets,
please ensure that you device is sending data in ASCII
format (currently, 232key does not support other formats
like Modbus RTU).

i. Data received and extracted, but 232key does not type anything

The event log looks fine, i.e. you can see that data was received
from the connected device and that 232key extracted the desired
value (shown in blue), but nothing is typed into your application?

Make sure that your target application has focus while
232key is running in the background. If you start typing on
your keyboard, the characters should appear in your target
application.

Please try using another target application (like notepad) to see if
the problem persists. Some applications may capture keyboard input
and prevent 232key from working correctly.

3. Error messages

No port found

232key needs a (virtual) serial port to communicate with your
device. Make sure the port shows up in the device manager on
your system. If you're using a RS-232/USB converter, check that
it is plugged in correctly.

Port is in use

Your port is being used by another application. Check that
you've selected the right port in the input
tab and that no other programs are using this port.

Port not valid

The port you selected in the
input tab is not valid. This
could happen if you disconnect a RS-232/USB converter while
232key is running.

Scale not connected to this port (A&D devices only)

232key shows this message if it can't detect an A&D
device at the specified port. Please make sure that
you've chosen the right port in the input tab and that the
cable is connected to your device and computer.

If you receive this error message, but your A&D device is
working properly as the program continues, please
tell us
which A&D scale or balance you're using.

Scale connected, but switched off (A&D devices only)

232key has detected an A&D device at the
specified port, but this device does not respond as expected. It
could be switched off or you might be using the wrong type of
cable. A&D scales and balances usually require a straight cable
and will not work with a crossed (null modem) cable.

Note concerning A&D balances with power safe mode: Power safe
mode is currently not detected by 232key, this message will only
appear if your balance is unplugged.

If you receive this error message, but your A&D device is
working properly as the program continues, please tell us
which A&D scale or balance you're using.

Error while loading settings

All settings you make in 232key are saved and loaded automatically. If
one or more of these
saved settings are not valid, the error message above is displayed and the
program uses the default setting. This can also mean that a trial
license you used has expired.

Access error while loading settings

Access to the registry was denied. The program cannot load the settings your
settings.

Please ensure that access to the registry (232key) or
ProgramData folder (232key MU) is not blocked by a
virus scanner or similar application.

Access error while saving settings

Your settings are automatically saved when 232key is
closed. If access to the registry (232key) or ProgramData folder
(232key MU) is denied, you'll see this
error message.

Please ensure that access to the registry is not blocked by a
virus scanner or similar application.

Invalid license key

All license keys purchased from our partner FastSpring are
generated automatically and are guaranteed to be valid. There are
only two reasons why you might see this message:

You're using an outdated version of 232key (this is the most likely reason
and applies to more than 95% of all support requests
concerning this error). Please switch to the
About tab and confirm that your version number
starts with 2017:Older versions don't accept newer
license keys. Please update your software by downloading and
running the installer
for 232key Plus or
232key MU
(depending on which license you've purchased).

You've not copied and pasted the complete license key or
your email client has problems displaying it correctly (this
can happen in rare cases when FastSpring's original email
with the license key has been forwarded to you in HTML
format). Please copy the entire key from the email you've
received from FastSpring. If the error persist,
please contact us and
we'll resend you your license key as a text file. However,
first make sure you're not using an outdated version of
232key as mentioned above!